Valentina Conchie
Russian, b. 1977
Valentina Conchie (aka Vibrant Cuckoo) (b. 1977) is a Russian mixed-media artist, curator, and photographer born in Moscow, now based in Singapore.
Her work constructs vivid symbolic worlds where myth, identity, and human values converge. Trained in medicine and shaped by a life across multiple cultures, Valentina channels her experiences into a distinctive recognisable artistic language, a vocabulary she built herself, composed of colour, symbols, objects, and portraits. Through this language, she explores the complexities of contemporary womanhood and the stories we carry within us, creating profoundly emotional manifestos that speak loudly, unapologetically, and with bold energy.
Colour is one of the core engines of Valentina’s practice. Through layered mixed
media she creates striking, unconventional palettes that emerge intuitively rather than through fixed formulas. She often selects colours in real time, following instinct and momentum, letting each piece grow through its own impulses. These vivid, unexpected combinations are not decorative choices but deliberate tools reinforcing the visual impact of her work and shaping the strength of her distinct visual voice.
Her cross-cultural experiences - shaped by her Russian roots, multicultural family, and eleven years living in Singapore - inform her artistic practice, giving her work a global resonance and a uniquely hybrid aesthetic. The development of her practice has led to growing international visibility.
Latest exhibition highlights include The Salon des Étrangers at the 60th Venice Biennale (2024), a solo exhibition at The Other Art Fair, Melbourne (2025), and a solo presentation at Art Taipei (2025).
Alongside her artistic practice, Valentina is an active curator and exhibiting photographer, recognised for her ability to construct visual narratives that weave together aesthetics, emotion, and social commentary.
her experiences into a distinctive recognisable artistic language, a vocabulary she built herself, composed of colour, symbols, objects, and portraits. Through this language, she explores the complexities of contemporary womanhood and the stories we carry within us, creating profoundly emotional manifestos that speak loudly, unapologetically, and with bold energy.
"At the center of Valentina Conchie's universe is a multifaceted female presence: neither symbol nor stereotype, but a living and multiple force, sacred and
irreverent. Her female figures do not seduce, offer themselves, or justify themselves. They stay. They endure. They exist as autonomous icons of an identity that does not demand approval, but simply takes its place. They are goddesses, mothers, daughters, clowns, totemic animals, oracles and imagined creatures. They are all, and they are one. They are not depicted to represent a model, but to give substance to a feeling. Identity, here, is a creative fluid. There is no staticity, but continuous metamorphosis. This feminine is not "represented": it is inhabited.”
Federica Schneck, Art Writer & Critic
Colour is one of the core engines of Valentina’s practice. Through layered mixed media she creates striking, unconventional palettes that emerge intuitively rather than through fixed formulas. She often selects colours in real time, following instinct and momentum, letting each piece grow through its own impulses. These vivid, unexpected combinations are not decorative choices but deliberate tools reinforcing the visual impact of her work and shaping the strength of her distinct visual voice. Having begun her artistic practice later in life, without the privilege of formal art education, Valentina’s trajectory is rooted in determination and uncompromising honesty. A mother of two who rebuilt her life and creative voice in Singapore, she embodies the belief that “if there’s a will, there’s a way.”
"For me, the ideal work would speak to the majority of people in a powerful, meaningful way, regardless of language and culture. There are very few topics that everyone cares about, but they are familiar to all of us and universally
relatable. This is my ultimate goal - one that is not easily attainable, but I strive for it nonetheless."
Valentina Conchie "The Creative Process"